By Laura Lane
On May 2, a bandit held up the Roslyn Savings Bank on Merrick Avenue, across from Chatterton Elementary School. On May 31 at 4:10 p.m., a robber held up the Chase Bank at 2122 Merrick Ave., across the street from Roslyn Savings.
After the Roslyn Savings robbery, civic leaders called police to ask for their help and attempted to meet with representatives of the two banks. "We held a meeting on May 14 at [Nassau County] Legislator Dave Denenberg's office and invited representatives from Roslyn and Chase," said Michele Walsh, president of the Central Merrick Homeowners Association. "Roslyn sent a security and branch manager, who were receptive to some of our ideas. The police came too, but no one showed up from Chase, and we were disappointed. This is a good neighborhood, and the bank robberies are a reoccurring issue."
At both the Roslyn and Chase banks, a robber presented a note to the teller demanding money while other customers were in the bank. He then ran off with the cash and was seen heading north on Merrick Avenue.
"These banks don't have any security, and the Merrick Mall doesn't have any either," said Barry Fox, president of Merrick Park Home Owners Association. "There have been two bank robberies a couple of weeks apart in broad daylight. We want these banks to put up bandit barriers. Other banks on Merrick Avenue have them, and it seems to discourage robbers."
Bandit barriers are thick Plexiglas barriers that separate tellers from customers. Nassau County Police Detective John Lavelle of the Robbery Squad said that although bandit barriers protect the teller, they do not guard against a robbery. "From my experience, they don't come into play," Lavelle said. "It's not going to magically change everything. It's a great unknown why these guys go into some banks and not others."
Tom Kelly, a Chase spokesman, said bandit barriers are used in many branches in Manhattan, and he believes that they are a deterrent. "We've found in general that it does discourage robberies," Kelly said. "Sometimes when robbers come to our branch and there aren't any customers in the bank, if the robber passes the note to one of our tellers, they'll walk away, leaving the bank robber standing there."
He added that Chase officials will investigate the May 31 robbery to determine if bandit barriers would be the best choice to potentially stop future robberies.
"We study the history of the branch, if it's been robbed in the past and how many times, and every time a bank is robbed, we review the security measures and decide if we need to change them," Kelly explained. "We also look into what other banks nearby are doing. There's a trade-off with bandit barriers, although I believe that safety is of the utmost importance. They make the bank a little less personal."
Walsh said she welcomes Chase's plan to address the problem. "At this point, I think they need to independently reevaluate the security system," Walsh said. "We can't dictate what they do because we aren't security experts. But residents have expressed concern to me and Barry regarding the need to make these banks safer. You want to go into a bank that you know is safe."
Police say the suspect is a white male, 5-feet-10 to 6 feet tall, about 30 years old, with a medium build and complexion. He was wearing a gray T-shirt, a New York Mets baseball cap and jeans.
Five robberies in six years
Bank Robberies north of Sunrise Highway in Merrick since 2001:
Fleet Bank
15 Merrick Ave.
January 5, 2001 - 9:44 a.m.
Roslyn Savings Bank
2111 Merrick Ave.
March 20, 2006 - 2:53 p.m.
May 2, 2007 - 1:21 p.m.
Chase Bank
2122 Merrick Ave.
September 29, 2004 - 12:35 p.m.
May 31, 2007 - 4:10 p.m.
Comments aobut this story? Llane@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 236.
